Lixing Lao, Ph.D., Principal Investigator SAR Conference 2007 Abstract This R-13 application requests support for a conference entitled, "The Status and Future of Acupuncture Research: 10 years post-NIH Consensus Conference". The three specific aims of the conference are to: (1) Critically evaluate, synthesize, and disseminate the state of the evidence regarding efficacy, safety, and mechanisms of acupuncture for specific indications as defined in the 1997 NIH Consensus Statement as well as new indications that have been documented in systematic reviews during the last ten years, placing major emphasis on evaluation of study designs and research methodologies. (2) Provide an international forum for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to rigorously assess and strengthen the acupuncture evidence base and stimulate collaborations that will drive future research. (3) Provide unique learning opportunities for those new to acupuncture research, e.g. biomedical researchers and providers, AOM college faculty, administrators and students. The proposed conference will be held November 8 -11, 2007 on the campus of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD. The conference's primary sponsors include the Society for Acupuncture Research, Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School's Osher Institute, Georgetown University School of Medicine, New England School of Acupuncture, and Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Leading researchers in the field from the U.S. and abroad will be invited to give keynote and overview presentations assessing progress in the past decade, and challenges and opportunities for future research. Acupuncture researchers will be solicited for original presentations in three main areas: clinical trials, basic science and research methodology. Key issues in each of these domains will also be addressed in panel discussions, break-out sessions, and poster sessions. Abstracts of all keynote talks and invited oral and poster presentations will be published in the Medline- indexed Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Pre-conference workshops will address fundamentals of AOM research for those new to this field. A Scientific Review Committee will employ a rigorous peer review process to assure quality and relevance of original research. Marketing efforts will target a broad range of audiences, including researchers, students, healthcare administrators and health policy analysts. Special recruiting efforts will be employed to encourage the participation of national and international acupuncture and AOM professional organizations and OM colleges, as well as minorities and junior researchers. Lixing Lao, Ph.D., Principal Investigator SAR Conference 2007 Narrative This R-13 application requests support for a conference entitled, "The Status and Future of Acupuncture Research: 10 years post-NIH Consensus Conference". The proposed conference will mark the 10th anniversary of the 1997 NIH Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture1, a landmark event in the growth and acceptance of acupuncture in the U.S. The highly-cited consensus statement that emerged from the 1997 NIH conference summarized the state of acupuncture research and sketched a road map for future work1. To date, however, no attempt has been made to convene members of the acupuncture and biomedical research communities to comprehensively update, re-evaluate and propose means to strengthen the evidence base for acupuncture. The proposed conference will do so. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]